Automatic packer, flowhead, and pumping device



June 19, 1923.

' G1. C. HENSHAW ET AL AUTOMATIC PACKER, FLOWHEAD, ANDr PUMPING DEVICE Filed Aug. 27. 921

Q C Herzsmw MH Myers,

Ut@ C. HENSHW AND WILLIAM H. MYERS, OF RANGER, TE

AIUTTIC PACK, IFLOWHEAD, AND PUMPING- DEVICE.

Application led August 27, 1921. Serial No. 496,058.

To aZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, GEORGE C. HnNsHAw and WILLIAM H. Mrnns, citizens of the United States, residing at Ranger, in the county of Eastland and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Packer, Flowhead, and Pumping Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an oil well mechanism and it has for its object to provide means whereby gas under pressure in an oil well may be trapped and utilized in the expulsion of the oil from the well either in conjunction with and as an aid to a pump or independently thereof, according to the degree of pressure existing in the well.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows.

In the drawin Fig. 1. is a sectional view of the lower portion of an oil well having the invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating the packer in its compressed condition; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view illustrating a bayonet joint hereinafter described.

Like numerals designate corresponding` parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

. In the drawing 5 designates the well casing. he apparatus constituting the subject matter of the present invention consists of a flow head 6 into which the lower end of the tubing 7 is threaded. The lower end of the ilow head is provided with an apron 8 within which the upper part of a rubber packer 9 is received, said packer being secured in place by means of the bolts 10, the lower ends of which are threaded into a ring 11 which is embedded in the rubber of the ecker 9. A tubular extension 12 of the flow ead has a sleeve 13 threaded upon its lower end and this sleeve carries an upstanding flange 14 which is engaged with the rubber packer 9. The lower end of the packer 9 is of flaring or bell formation, as indicated at 14 and a spiral spring 15 is located in theA portion 14, said spring having its lower end engaged at 16 with a cup-like guide 17 and having lts upper end engaged in a oove 18 of the sleeve 13, said end terminating in an upturned tongue 19, which is engaged with said sleeve. The guide 17 serves the purpose of holding the lower edge of the portion 14a of the packer in compressed condition against the tension of the spring 15 during the time that the device is being lowered into @0 the Well. At this time the parts are in the position illustrated in Fig. 2. With the parts as illustrated in Fig. 1 and before the device is lowered into the well, the guide 17 may be turned to wind the an extent that the guide 17 may be slipped upwardly over the collapsed lower end of the packer 14. While being slipped up to this position, a key 2O carried by a section of tubing 21, enters a keyway 22 formed in the 70 guide and prevents turning movement of the uide after the operator releases the same.

downward extension 23 of the guide 17 carries a ring 24 and a collar 25 by which the ring is held in place. expansion springs 26 are wise secured to the soldered or otherring 24 and the lower ends of these springs are secured' to a collar 27 A 30 adapted to coact with the bayonet slot, it being understood that when the guide is moved upwardly into packer compressing position, the pin 30 enters the vertical portion of the bayonet slot the collar 27, springs 26 and ring 24 are given a slight rotation to cause the pin 30 to enter the horizontal portion of the slot. At this time all of the parts are bound tohaving a bayonet slot 28 formed therein.

gether and are in position to be lowered into 90 the well casing 5. As the device is lowered into the well casing the springs 26 frictionally engage casing 5 and' when the device has been lowered to the proper position the tubing may be given a partial rotation withI 95 respect to the springs 26 to move the pin 30 out of the horizontal portion of the bayonet slot. It is then possible to pull the tubing upwardly1 a short distance, this upward movement o out of the keyway 22 and this permits the guide 17 to turn and consequently permits spring 15 to such 65 The upper end of coupling 29 of the tubing 21 carries a pin 80 and that thereafter the tubing carries the key 20 19 ,above Upon the contrary it will be observed that the shape of the lower portion of the packer is suchthat the as pressure itself will aid.

in forcing this yieldable lower edge firmly into contact with the inner wall of the casing. Consequently any gas in the lower portion of the well will be trapped therein and cannot escape from the well past the structure shown but must pass through the structure in escaping from the well, and it is in utilizing this passage of the gas through ythe structure to aid in expelling the oil from the well that the present invention particularly resides. The gas from 4the lower portion of the well passes upwardly through the channel 31 between the tubular extension 12 and the tube 21 and is discharged through the jet valves 32 of which there may be any desired number. Preferably, these valves are arranged inA annular relation around the upper end of the tube 21 and since the various ports leading to said valves decrease in size toward the upper ends of said valves, it follows that these valves act after the manner of ejectors to create a reduction of pressure in the space 33 at the mouth of the tube 21. Additionally, the walls of the flow head 6 above the mouths of the jet valves are convergent, as

indicated at 34 and this further aids in creating an ejector action which serves to aid in discharging the oil upwardly through the tube 7. The'tubes 7 and 21 may be plain tubes, the lower end of the tube 2l or an extension thereof receiving the oil supply or these tubes may constitute extensions of a pump structure. Where the pressure within the well is suicient the pump structure may be dispensed with, but where the pressure is not sufficient to discharge the oil alone then the structure shown may be used. The jet valves 32 comprise ball valves 32El which rest upon seats 32h and consequently the gas is prevented from passing through the jet valves until it accumu-y lates in sucient quantity to raise these ball valves from their seats and this must be done against the pressure of the -oil there` Consequently it will be seen that the apparatus 1s designed to not ronly trap the gas but to hold it from acting at all until it has accumulated in sufficient quantity and pressure to eectively aid in ejecting oil from the well. i i

lt is to be understood that the" invention is not limited to the precise construction set forth but that it includes within its purviewiwhatever changes fairly come within either the terms or the spirit of the appended claims.

Having described our invention what we and the iow head having a continuation ofy said gas passage leading to the ejector nozzles.

2. A device of the character described comprising a iow head provided with a.

chamber having a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet, a plurality of ejector nozzles in the chamber around the liquidl inlet, and discharging in the direction of the outlet, a packer on the flowhead for preventing the vpassage of gas past the outside thereof, said packer also having an internal gas passage and the flowq head having a continuation of said gas passage leading to the ejector nozzles, and means associated with the eje'ctor nozzles for preventing a discharge of gas therefrom until a predetermined pressure 1s attained. j v

3. A device of the character described comprising a flow head provided with a chamber having a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet, a plurality of ejector nozzles in the packer on the liowhead for preventing the passage of gas past the outside thereof, said packer also having an internal gas passage i and the flow head havingy a continuation of said gas passage leading'tothe ejector nozzles, and check valves associated with the ejector nozzles, said valves resisting the discharge of gas from the nozzles until a predetermined gas pressure is attained'.

4:. A device of the'character described i comprising a flow head, an 'elasticn packer having a bell-like lower end',`1a spring for effecting expansion of said bell-like lower end, means for restraining said ."ibell-like lower end in its expansive movement and means controllable from the top of the well ,j

for releasing said restraining means.

5. A device ofthe character described'` comprising allow head, a packer, anexpansion spring for the packer, a winding element for the spring, casing engaging springs and connections between 'said casing engaging springs and the winding element fory preventing retrograde movement of the winding means.

6. A device of the character described comprising a flow head, a plurality of jet Leeaeee valves carried thereby, a tubular member associated therewith and opening into the space between said jet valves, a packer upon the lower end of the How head, a spring for expanding the lower end of said packer, a winding element for the sprin constitutin e restraining element for the ower edge o the packer, e easing engaging member and a bayonet joint between sald casing engaging member and eaid tubular member.

n testimony whereof we afx our signatures.l

GERGE C. HENSHAW.' WILLAM H. MYERS. 

